He directly touched the sundial and channelled his divine energy into it, hoping to uncover hidden secrets.
BADDDUMM!! BADDDUMM!!
Aegis of the Arctic Deity froze, startled by the slow, rhythmic sound of a beating heart reverberating through his senses. Doubting himself, he intensified his focus, stretching his senses to their limits, attempting to penetrate whatever obstacle was blocking his perception, and finally –
BADDDUUMM!! BADDDUMM!!
Aegis of the Arctic Deity's starry eyes widened in astonishment at the sight before him. Embedded within the sundial was a beating heart pulsating with an unnatural rhythm. Surrounding it was an intricately arranged network of artificial veins, casting the projection of a much larger heart made of these artificial tendrils.
Aegis of the Arctic Deity recognized these constructs as artificial, not only because of their familiar design but also because similar veins ran within him, bridging the gap between his Omnithraillian transplant and his Pixie body. Moreover, the heart shockingly appeared humanlike.
As Aegis of the Arctic Deity sensed the faint life force emanating from the slow, steady heartbeat and processed his shocking discovery, he realized that what lay before him was the remnants of another man-made god, or at least what remained of one.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Aegis of the Arctic Deity released more divine energy, sensing it being drawn into the heart the moment it passed through the sundial.
Instantly, the heart began to thrum rapidly, and just as Aegis of the Arctic Deity contemplated releasing more of his divine energy, the sundial exploded with a burst of light.
Before his wide, starry eyes, the giant sundial transformed, adorned with intricate designs and flowery patterns that illuminated its surface with a soft, moonlit glow emanating from within.
But the transformation was not yet complete. The light at the top of the structure spread outward like the branches of a giant tree while the base extended downward like roots. From these branches, leaves began to sprout, each bearing fruit that shimmered like crystallized gems.
These fruits displayed a dazzling array of colours, shifting rapidly from green to yellow to red and every hue in between.
Aegis of the Arctic Deity stretched his hand and grasped one of the fruits. As his fingers closed around it and plucked it from the branch, the fruit dissolved into a shower of tiny particles, each one glowing with a soft, ethereal light. These particles drifted toward him and entered his form, causing a cooling sensation to spread across his entire body.
At first, Aegis of the Arctic Deity wanted to utilize his divine energy to block and seal off the strange tiny particles that had entered his body so he could properly examine them and learn more about what they were. However, he froze again, sensing a familiar energy coursing through his body.
With his Omnithraillian transplant, Aegis of the Arctic Deity could tap into Primordial energy. Still, there were limits unless he wanted to strain his borrowed body, which would pose significant problems. One of them was the speed and extent of his recovery.
And due to his deteriorating body, he needed more time to harness Primordial energy as he desired. So he reserved its use for important matters, as who would ever imagine a man-made god like him to wield Primordial energy despite not being a true god?
"How is this even possible?" Aegis of the Arctic Deity muttered, his eyes fixed on the unfolding scene before him.
As a man-made god, a being who had attained divinity through an unnatural and almost unacceptable method, he was an abomination.
However, compared to the semi-living organ of an unknown man-made god before him, Aegis of the Arctic Deity couldn't help but admit that this shouldn't even be possible.
Aegis of the Arctic Deity continued to ponder for an explanation until his mind came to a sudden halt. But, he found none, understanding that maybe this was something linked to the barely alive man-made god beside him, and they were all strange in their own ways.
He soon directed his senses towards his Primordial energy reserve and sensed it had filled up slightly.
After deciding, he stretched his hand forward and grabbed another fruit. Feeling the tiny particles flow into his body before being pulled towards his Primordial energy reserve, Aegis of the Arctic Deity seized this opportunity to completely fill it up.
He could utilize it to extend his life further by a few more years, thereby increasing the duration of his barrier over Orion's Cities and giving Orion and the others more time to devise a way to protect the cities until after his demise.
He only had to lose his reserve of Divine energy, which seemed like a fair deal for someone like him. He would have to look into whether it was a blessing or a curse or why such a bizarre entity had appeared within his area later.
His guess also made him believe its appearance was related to the Vylkr veil phenomenon above them.
Just as he was about to touch the last fruit with its mesmerizing red hue, Aegis of the Arctic Deity felt the heart within the sundial beat violently.
He halted his actions and decided to release more divine energy into it to see if it could replenish itself. As he did, the various mesmerizing fruits suddenly emerged from the branches he had previously plucked from. Not only that, but the crystalline translucent tree roots stretched out from the area of the enormous sundial and moved outward.
Aegis of the Arctic continued to observe until it reached his barrier and halted. He knew that if he hadn't set the barrier up, it would have surrounded the entire Village Chief's compound.
He shifted his attention towards the fruits and grabbed one, allowing the particles to enter his body and completely fill up his primordial energy reserve before quickly dispelling the tree and placing a seal on the sundial.
Something strange had occurred here, and he just couldn't fathom it.